Big spread on the makerbot mini in today's wall street journal.
What do you think about this machine?
I don't know about that price for that build platform....
The webcam and notification stuff is cool though definitely.
9 years, 9 months ago
0
vinnie90
- I agree the webcam and iphone app stuff is cool. However, the build plate is too dam small. I think we could all agree on here that if we had a choice we would go bigger. I think makerbots focus was to make a machine just the right size for tinkers/schools/or once a month prints.
Waaay overpriced but guess that'll come down steeply over the next year or so.
Be the first on your block to have a Makerbot Replicator Mini space helmet! Coming to a yard sale near you, real soon! LOL
Some innovative features, especially the "smart" extruder. A Quarter-VGA webcam in the age of HDTV won't set the world alight but it should do what it's intended to do: Establish Makerbot as the go-to brand for 3D printers. Why is the build plate so small? They needed a way to slot it in UNDER the existing products. Next they'll retrofit the new features into the larger machines or introduce feature-rich printers in the mid-levels. They've already run down stock of the Rep 2 and cut the price of the Rep 2X in preparation. Judging by the toadying exuberance of the prize quotations, there was more than a little champagne on the Makerbot stand at CES so they've got the marketing budget to skew consumers' perceptions of the market. looks like they're on to a winning strategy. Shame they'll spoil the word "maker" for ever in the process.
I was interested to hear a while ago that if, instead of buying the first iPhone, you'd invested your $500 in Apple shares, you'd be a millionaire by now. So! Go get yourself $1400 worth of Stratasys shares and retire in luxury! :-D
Remember where you heard it first! :-D
Well! You did ask what I think! Hehe!
9 years, 9 months ago
1
defcon3d
- Guys, if you really want to know about the the 5th Generation machines? Go to the Makerbot site and look at their google group.
Things are not as sweet in Camelot as they would have you think.
As a long time owner of a Makerbot product. I can tell you to really do some research before you pull the trigger on one of these new machines.
Sometimes a company jumps the gun with new product that hasn't been thoroughly tested. But don't take my word for it. Just look through the group posts as to what's been taking place.
It's a shame that a company that was purchased for $400 million brought these new generation machines to market before being thoroughly tested.
I'll never spend a $1,000+ to be anyone's "Beta Tester" Don't think I'm a pissed off past customer as I currently own a Rep. 2 that performs extremely well.
In the future these 5th Generation machines may turn into great machines with some software and hardware upgrades. But now these machines are not ready for prime time as they would like you to believe....
I would hate to be working the help desk at Makerbot now....
9 years, 9 months ago
0
elpulpo
- Hey! They're running hard to stay in the lead. No doubt they're resource-limited. They're the wrong side of the country, after all. :-)
Let's see what happens when a pretender to the throne emerges. Now, THAT will be fun to watch! In the meantime, it's probably not the best time to buy a new 3D printer from a market leader.
Yeah. I know. My know-it-all tone must be annoying. I'm just amazed and a little annoyed that we seem to be receding into the bottom-feeder place in the 3DP food-chain. And so FAST!!
9 years, 9 months ago
0
tjones
- "I would hate to be working the help desk at Makerbot now...." is the best quote of the day :)
9 years, 9 months ago
0
defcon3d
- I emailed the author yesterday about his research on the article. This was his reply.
Thanks for reading. If you look closely, I dedicated a fair amount of space to the challenges I had, especially getting the smart extruder to work.
In the end, though, I think that's a problem that MakerBot can solve.
Regards, Geoff
So on to the next story as his job is done. This will turn into a nice shot in the arm for Makerbots sales. I'm just wondering how many parents or educators will take the time and energy to fix this issues for a machine with "A Few Rough Edges"
I have friends that are on their 5th Extruder replacement on the larger machine which carries the same hardware as the mini. And that model has been out for a couple of months.
At first you had to ship the extruder back before you would get a replacement as it was a sealed unit and if you took it apart you would void the machines warranty. Nothing like spending $350 for another extruder.
The returns of the extruder on the new machines have become so rampant that Makerbot ran out of replacement parts. So they finally changed the status quo and now have told people it is okay to open the extruder and try to fix it on their own. This on a $2900 machine.
Now 2 months later they bring to market the Mini at $1375 with the same known issues that still haven't been solved. Since when is it a good business practice to bring out a faulty product with know issues?
Sorry, I forgot... This is Makerbot and rules don't apply to them....
If the crap really hits the fan the only people that will make money in all of this are the attorneys in the class action suit.
9 years, 9 months ago
1
makerbeck
- From the Google Makerbot Operators group, there are lots of reports of problems with the new machines. The only one shipping up to now has been the Rep 2 replacement. People seem to be having lots of problems with the interchangeable extruders. I really don't get the benefit of that one unless you like storing an extruder attached to a spool of plastic or need to change out quickly when it jams up. The camera is a nice idea, but as people have commented, it is pricey. They have gone to a proprietary filament set up which will cause most users to pay a 20% premium for filament. As far as the wrong coast coment from the left coast guy, that was pretty funny. All I can really do is laugh at that one as most hardware innovation across the board and across industries comes from outside Silicon Valley. You need to think bigger than apps and networking equipment when a comment like that is made. Very disappointed that MBI has had such a poor launch of these products. It sounds like they have a new product introduction process that is out of whack. Wait times for customer support are much longer than they were before these products were shipped though once you get to talk to someone, the techs are still very helpful. Well that's my quarters worth from a generally pretty happy Replicator Dual and Replicator 2 owner.
9 years, 9 months ago
0
elpulpo
- Hey, I'm not a Left-coast guy. I'm a Brit. :-)
I'm not going to argue the toss over where technological innovation is centred. I think that's a matter of record.
9 years, 9 months ago
1
makerbeck
- Just for fun... elpulo's assertion led me to do some quick research and it is interesting that there is a pretty even distribution of utility patents being issued by the USPTO between the Left Coast (California, Oregon, Washington), East Coast (including NH and Vermont which don't have a coastline), and the Rest of the USA. While California is #1 overall, the west coast and east coast are equal so I guess that puts the center of innovation somewhere in Iowa!
The source for this data was the USPTO at: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/cst_utl.htm The states and territories in order based on 2013 are: CALIFORNIA TEXAS NEW YORK MASSACHUSETTS WASHINGTON MICHIGAN NEW JERSEY ILLINOIS MINNESOTA PENNSYLVANIA FLORIDA OHIO NORTH CAROLINA COLORADO GEORGIA ARIZONA CONNECTICUT OREGON WISCONSIN INDIANA VIRGINIA MARYLAND UTAH MISSOURI KANSAS TENNESSEE IDAHO IOWA SOUTH CAROLINA NEVADA NEW HAMPSHIRE KENTUCKY OKLAHOMA VERMONT ALABAMA DELAWARE NEW MEXICO LOUISIANA RHODE ISLAND NEBRASKA MAINE MISSISSIPPI ARKANSAS WEST VIRGINIA DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SOUTH DAKOTA HAWAII MONTANA WYOMING NORTH DAKOTA ALASKA PUERTO RICO U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS GUAM U.S. UNSPECIFIED REGION CANAL ZONE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS U.S. PACIFIC ISLANDS
makerbeck
- The data is from 1963 to present, not from the beginning of the USPTO.
9 years, 9 months ago
0
defcon3d
- I knew I lived in California for some reason....
9 years, 9 months ago
0
elpulpo
- Well, that's me told! Oh, an BTW, Patent filings are no indication of technological innovation when it's a metric that Wall St Analysts use it as a benchmark for a corporation's health. I've worked for an US company that filed as many patents as it could ( and some of them quite comical ), not because they were original but just to boost their risk ranking on Wall St.
9 years, 9 months ago
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Waaay overpriced but guess that'll come down steeply over the next year or so.
Be the first on your block to have a Makerbot Replicator Mini space helmet! Coming to a yard sale near you, real soon! LOL
Some innovative features, especially the "smart" extruder. A Quarter-VGA webcam in the age of HDTV won't set the world alight but it should do what it's intended to do: Establish Makerbot as the go-to brand for 3D printers. Why is the build plate so small? They needed a way to slot it in UNDER the existing products. Next they'll retrofit the new features into the larger machines or introduce feature-rich printers in the mid-levels. They've already run down stock of the Rep 2 and cut the price of the Rep 2X in preparation. Judging by the toadying exuberance of the prize quotations, there was more than a little champagne on the Makerbot stand at CES so they've got the marketing budget to skew consumers' perceptions of the market. looks like they're on to a winning strategy. Shame they'll spoil the word "maker" for ever in the process.
I was interested to hear a while ago that if, instead of buying the first iPhone, you'd invested your $500 in Apple shares, you'd be a millionaire by now. So! Go get yourself $1400 worth of Stratasys shares and retire in luxury! :-D
Remember where you heard it first! :-D
Well! You did ask what I think! Hehe!
Go to the Makerbot site and look at their google group.
Things are not as sweet in Camelot as they would have you think.
As a long time owner of a Makerbot product. I can tell you to really do some research before you pull the trigger on one of these new machines.
Sometimes a company jumps the gun with new product that hasn't been thoroughly tested. But don't take my word for it. Just look through the group posts as to what's been taking place.
It's a shame that a company that was purchased for $400 million brought these new generation machines to market before being thoroughly tested.
I'll never spend a $1,000+ to be anyone's "Beta Tester"
Don't think I'm a pissed off past customer as I currently own a Rep. 2 that performs extremely well.
In the future these 5th Generation machines may turn into great machines with some software and hardware upgrades. But now these machines are not ready for prime time as they would like you to believe....
I would hate to be working the help desk at Makerbot now....
Let's see what happens when a pretender to the throne emerges. Now, THAT will be fun to watch! In the meantime, it's probably not the best time to buy a new 3D printer from a market leader.
Yeah. I know. My know-it-all tone must be annoying. I'm just amazed and a little annoyed that we seem to be receding into the bottom-feeder place in the 3DP food-chain. And so FAST!!
Thanks for reading. If you look closely, I dedicated a fair amount of space to the challenges I had, especially getting the smart extruder to work.
In the end, though, I think that's a problem that MakerBot can solve.
Regards,
Geoff
So on to the next story as his job is done.
This will turn into a nice shot in the arm for Makerbots sales. I'm just wondering how many parents or educators will take the time and energy to fix this issues for a machine with "A Few Rough Edges"
I have friends that are on their 5th Extruder replacement on the larger machine which carries the same hardware as the mini. And that model has been out for a couple of months.
At first you had to ship the extruder back before you would get a replacement as it was a sealed unit and if you took it apart you would void the machines warranty. Nothing like spending $350 for another extruder.
The returns of the extruder on the new machines have become so rampant that Makerbot ran out of replacement parts. So they finally changed the status quo and now have told people it is okay to open the extruder and try to fix it on their own. This on a $2900 machine.
Now 2 months later they bring to market the Mini at $1375 with the same known issues that still haven't been solved.
Since when is it a good business practice to bring out a faulty product with know issues?
Sorry, I forgot... This is Makerbot and rules don't apply to them....
If the crap really hits the fan the only people that will make money in all of this are the attorneys in the class action suit.
I'm not going to argue the toss over where technological innovation is centred. I think that's a matter of record.
Here is a link to the charts:
https://plus.google.com/110626920153939592892/posts/eWGwQtqcMLT
The source for this data was the USPTO at: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/cst_utl.htm
The states and territories in order based on 2013 are:
CALIFORNIA
TEXAS
NEW YORK
MASSACHUSETTS
WASHINGTON
MICHIGAN
NEW JERSEY
ILLINOIS
MINNESOTA
PENNSYLVANIA
FLORIDA
OHIO
NORTH CAROLINA
COLORADO
GEORGIA
ARIZONA
CONNECTICUT
OREGON
WISCONSIN
INDIANA
VIRGINIA
MARYLAND
UTAH
MISSOURI
KANSAS
TENNESSEE
IDAHO
IOWA
SOUTH CAROLINA
NEVADA
NEW HAMPSHIRE
KENTUCKY
OKLAHOMA
VERMONT
ALABAMA
DELAWARE
NEW MEXICO
LOUISIANA
RHODE ISLAND
NEBRASKA
MAINE
MISSISSIPPI
ARKANSAS
WEST VIRGINIA
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
SOUTH DAKOTA
HAWAII
MONTANA
WYOMING
NORTH DAKOTA
ALASKA
PUERTO RICO
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
GUAM
U.S. UNSPECIFIED REGION
CANAL ZONE
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS
U.S. PACIFIC ISLANDS